Breast pumps are known. They generally comprise a vacuum pump, a breast cap connected to the latter and placed on the areola of a human mother's breast, and a collecting container connected to the breast cap for the purpose of collecting the milk that is pumped off.
The known breast caps mainly comprise a rigid funnel, so that breast cap inserts are used to permit adaptation to different breast sizes.
These known breast cap inserts have a wide variety of forms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,847 discloses a funnel-shaped insert with a long funnel neck. EP-A-0,237,474 discloses an insert with a cylindrical nipple attachment. This insert is made of a material that is chemically inactive in respect of water up to a temperature of 100.degree. C.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,406 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,246 describe frustoconical inserts with thicker and thinner zones intended to ensure improved stimulation of the mother's breast, in order in this way to optimize the pumping process.
WO 02/17993 discloses a breast cap insert which ensures enhanced wearing comfort. The insert comprises a frustoconical base body with an inner cone wall and an outer cone wall that form the walls of a closed chamber. The chamber is filled with air, a gas, a gel or silicone, and the inner cone wall is elastically deformable. In this way, the breast cap insert adapts optimally to the shape of the mother's breast, without exerting undesired pressure on the latter.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,177 discloses a C-shaped heat pack or cold pack for therapeutic use on projecting body parts, for example on an elbow, on a shoulder or on a breast. U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,177 also discloses a breast pump in which the cap funnel is provided with a collar consisting of this heat pack or cold pack. The funnel thus surrounds the areola of the mother's breast during use, and the flange formed by the C-shaped heat pack or cold pack lies outside the areola on the breast, so that the latter is warmed or cooled. This is intended to avoid swelling and irritation of the breast.